Hydraulic turbine bearing



Feb 26, 1935. H. E. "sMYsER 1,992,248

7 HYDRAULIC TURBINE BEARING Filed Jung 5, i931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N a Q5 *QN wm R 8m l\ Q t )w n R Q a I q 9 Q w I N Q INVENTOR E HARRY 1-2. SMYSER. Lu.

Feb. ,26, 1935. H. E. sMY sER 1,992,248

HYDRAULIC TURBINE BEARING F iled June 3, 1931 -2 Shets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HARRY E. SMYSE R.

ATTORNEY Patented-Feb. 26, I935 I" ii ti 7 V V t H fU T D 'TAT PAT T nYnRAULIorUitBINE BEARING Harry E. Sniyser; York, Pai, assignor to S. Morgan Smith Company, York, Pa., a corporation o! Pennsylvaniat g e 7 Application .iuhesfiss s ri 1N1);sugar: I

V 7 oleii sz;" pi ata-127) H V 'This invention relates to improvements (in housing 2fitis a size 'to 'snugly fit within thevgate hydraulicvturbines. g 1 I adjustingring 16. v a e v v An object of the invention is to provide an. im-

The housing-26 is formed with upper and lower proved bearing for the runner shaft of hydraulic inwardly p'roje'ctingi horizontal portions 28 and: 5 turbines. ,1 I ,1 f 7 Another object of the inventionis to provide portion-29isf0rmed with an upwardly extending improved meansfor lubricating the runner shaft 'p0rtion 31 'f0r a purposej to be hereinafter more bearingof hydraulic turbines; y l fully describedf Ifso' desired, the housing 26 can 7 Another object of theinvention is toprovicle be madejfrom a single casting with the portions l0;an ,'improved bearing forfthe runnershaft of, 27', 28, 29, 30and131 formed integral therewith. 10f

hydraulic turbines in whichthe packing boxt as- The bearing 25 v, heretofore referred to; is ent t ,-.1; ,b i g=i so disposed as to lformed vwitha central tubular portion, the, inner. be more accessible for inspectionand:adjustment surface ofuwhich is lined withyBabbitt metal or than :wasiheretofore' possible with known conother suitable bearing material 32. {The Babbitt struction sgt. 'T' I a, q; 1 -:Another object of the invention is to provide tical grooves 33 (see Fig. 2). The grooves '33 ejx-t an improved bearing of the charactermentioned,1--tend th entire len th i th -t ul po t on f whichis' simple'iniconstruction, and reliable and thebearing so as t pr vid du ts or passa ways. v exactinfunction under all conditions ofservice for {the oil; as will be hereinaftermore fully de- Theinvention, alsocom rises certain new and. ribed. I i 7' 10-- a v useful improvements in the construction, arrange- I hown in Fig; 2 t a i 25. is p y a ment and combinationofrthe several ipartsvof composed of two semi-circular sections'which are, which it is composed, as will be'hereinafter more u ab y; h t h by bolts 9 o he fa fullyhgdescribed and claimed. v I a ing means, It is desirable to make the bearingin v 'In the accomp anying drawingy V sectionsso that the same can beassembled on '25 Figure- 1 15 a vertical. sectioniof ap iqn fa the runner shaft 24,'which shaft has, as shown hydraulic turbine showingttheoapp lication of my in Fig'; ;1', aflange at its lower end for receiving invention thereto; and 1 3; r ,1 1 i the bolts which securethe shaft to the runner qFig; 2isa;-horizontal section taken on thegline f i tqjhg drawings, the t bi mof the bearing 25, andspaeed a suitable distance prises a casing composed Qf upperTand,lqwriseq therefrom, is a cylindrical wall 34. This Wallis tions 10 andll which formsa peripheralwater' made ya part of the bearing being connected inlet in which-are mounted an annular :series of thereto b zp a i of e ica b d a 35v wicket gatesorguide vanes 12. The wicketfgates t mep fl fi- 5 are adapted to be rotated fsimultaneously into'difw l ie s pwardly a considerable fgerent angular; positions to] controljthe flow; f distanceabovethe central portion of the bearing, waterinto' the turbine" in the usual mannerand d wa l being t m wi an u war ly profor this purpose the stems 14, which project Lup ie n fla g 3 h ch restsor and maybe se- 4 wardlv-from'the wicket'gates 'are: usually pro cured t the correspondingly te m inner p vided withgate operating arms 15 which are fixed r h ry of t e po 8' of t ou 6, At to said stems and-conncted by links to th'e-gatea point above th t a po tion-oi the bearing adjusting ring'16,= 1 e 1 25, the outer. wall 34 is 'form ed with a series of e The casing section ll'is forr'ned'with an axialne and tapered e n s 88 h p pose of a 1y directed chamber 22 in which the runner '23 w lb h e n m e fully d e Y operates. "The'hub of the runner 23is fixedto h 3 isthickenedi as ShQ in h draw 7 a 29, which areconnected by, vertical webs 30. The 5 "lining 32 is formedat suitable intervals with ver- 15 Surrounding the main shaft engaging portion 30 the lower: end of ashaft 24 which is'journalled in? S at p int wh r the openings 38 are formed Z asuitable'bearing 25 1 a i t s h ei i a ,t i For the purpose of supporting the bearing 25. ::The bottom 36 of thebearmg 251s spacedasuit 50. I preferto s h n li dri 'alw e ber r; abledistanceabove, the lower en'd of theerunner '50 housing 26; which'isiixed to the upper :portion .10 shaft24, and an opening 39 is formed in the: botofthe'casingh As shown clearly-in Fig.1 the tomoftthebearing for thefpurpose of draining oil housing 26 is formed with an external circumfera from the hearing The opening .39 is normally; I V "entialifl'ange 27which 're'sts on a correspondingly closed We screw threaded plug-40; l

-formed portion of the casing-z section5 10.;-'I"he; m'I'hevertical websiifidividehthe space within the outer wall 34 ofthe bearing into a plurality of chambers '42. However, as shown in Fig. 1 the lower edges of the webs 35 terminate a suitable distanceab'ove the bottom 36, so that all of the chambers 42 are connected through the openings 41 in the webs. In this way the oil is permitted to circulate from. one chamber. to another at a raterestrict'ed by the size of the openings 41. I

7 Each chamber 42 (seeFig. 2)'is divided by a vertical wall 43, in the form of an arcuate plate, which extends lengthwise of the-chamber, and is anchored at each endto the webs 35. The lower edge of the wall 43 terminates a suitable distance above the bottom 36, as indicated at 44 (Fig.1), and the upper edge of said wallprojects above the normal level of the oil to provide a baffle.

The top of the bearing 25 iscprovided with a cover plate 54, which prevents: dirt and other foreign matter from falling into the oil. r

Surrounding the outer wall 34 of the bearing 25,

and secured to the hub'of the runner .23 so asto rotate therewith, is a cylindrical member 45 which constitutes a pan or receptacle for the-oil. The bottom of the oil pan 45 is disposed beneaththe bottom. 36 of the bearing; f-Overlyingthe bottom 7 of the oil pan is a plate46' which covers the bolts used. for fastening the-shaft 24 and the oil pan 45'to the hub' of the runner 23. In this way theoil will not be agitated by therevolving bolts.

The outer edge of the oil pan 45 extends up-- wardly a suitable distance and is provided with an inturned flange 4'7. As shown in Fig. 1, the flange 47 is disposed in the plane of the upper portion of the inclined openings '38,.so as to provide means for deflecting the oil toward said openings. a

A packing is provided between thejouter'wallzot the oil pan-45 and the portion 3 1 of the housing 26. The portion31 is formed with a sealing ring.

48, and an annular packing gland 49 is fitted to the top of the portion 3-1, suitable packing'material 50being-disposed in the space between the seal ing ring and gland.- If so desired the outer surface 'of the oil pan 45 whichis engaged by the packing may be protected'by a thin sheet of suit} able material 51.

An opening 52 is formed in the bottom of the 7 oil pan 45'for the'purpose of draining oil from those'skilled in the art. 65

the pan, and a screw threaded plug 53, is provided for'norm'ally closing the-opening. r

Heretofore in; the construction of hydraulic turbines, thepacking' was located beneath'the bearing.- With such construction, it was difiicult,

to make inspections or renewals ofthe packing,

dueto thefact that such packings were inaccessi- 7 However, by the present construction, it will be noted that the packing gland 49is readily ac ble.

cessible through the openings in the upper portion 28 of the housing 26, so that any adjustments or renewals of the packing can be easily made without the necessity of dismantling any parts of the apparatus. This is an important feature of the invention which will Oil of sufficient quantity to submerge the main or central portion of the bea'ring 2 is maintained in the chamber provided by the oil pan 45. The oil is also contained in the chambers 42 of the bearing'through the connection between these chambers and the oil pan, provided by the grooves 33. "Since the space between outer wall 340i the bearing and the 'wall of the oil'pan 45 is-con- 'siderably less than the'diameter of the main body portion oi thebearing',- a greater quantity of oil will be disposed. within the bearingthanin the provided for.

be readily apparent to;

chamber exterior thereof provided by the .oil

pan 45. 1

In operation, the revolving oil pan 45 produces a centrifugal action of the body of oil, andthis action creates a suction action which draws the oil downwardly through the grooves 33 in the Babbitt lining 32. This results in the oil circulating in the paths indicated by the arrows (Fig. 1) in the following manner. ,1 T

7 ,From' the chamber at the bottom of the oil pan 45, the oil flows upwardly in the restricted space The upward" movement of the oil is interrupted between the wall 34 and the wall of the oil pan; v

by the inwardly extending flange 47, which deflects the oil inwardly and downwardly toward the openings 38 in thebearing wall 34. The oil then flows tlnough the openings 38 and into the chambers 42. Since the walls 43 in the chambers 42 project above the normal level of the ,oil in said chambers,

the oil will be prevented from flowing directly acrossthe chambers 42 toward the'shaft 24, and I will consequently be directed downwardly through the-outer portion of thechambers 42 and underneath the webs 35 and the walls '43..which divide these chambersand into the innerportions of the chambers.

The oil then flows upwardly to the top or" the central portion of the bearing 25 and from thence downwardly through the. grooves.33,f

and to the bottom portion of the oilpan 45.

, It will be apparent that the film of oilwhichflows down the'runner shaft 24 will be'heated and due to the small body of oil in the space between the Wall of'the oil pan 45 and the'wall34fof the bearing and; also to the centrifugal action of the 'oil'pan, the heat will not be dissipated from'the oil when the oil flows upwardly toward :the'deflector provided by the flange 4'7; However; as

the area of the chambers 42 is considerably.

greater than the area of the space between'the outer wall of the bearing body and the oil pan, the quantity of oil in the chambers 42 'willibe greater than the amount ofjoil' which is contained in the oil pan 45. Since theoil circulates at a comparatively slow rate through the chaim' bers 42, the temperature-of the oil entering said chambers will be lowered by the cooler oil therein. In this'way' theoilis maintainedinthe best possible condition during the operation of the I circulation; oftheoil is r turbine and positive In anotherapplicationgfor Letters Patent filed by me January 29,1932; Serial No. 589,561, for

improvements in Hydraulic turbines, I have claimed the manner in which the' bearing and packing gland are arranged in the turbine;

, While I haveherein shown and described one preferred form of my invention byway'of illus-j trationI wish it to be understood that I do not limit or confine myself to the'precisedetails of construction herein described and delineated. as modification and variation may bemade within the scope of the claims without departing from 1. The combination with a rotatable shaft, of V from the oil pan intosaidlchambers and from I the chambers to said bearing.

2. Thecombination with a rotatable :sliafir of a. stationary bearing-for the shaft, ana'nnular a bearinglsurrounding the shaft, said bearing plurality of chamberscommunicating at thebottom, an oil pan surrounding the annular portion and rotatablewiththe shaft, and means for directing oil from the oil pan into the chambers.

3. The combination with a rotatable shaft, of

having inner and outer spaced side walls and a bottom wal1, a series. of openingsjformed in the ,outer wall near the top thereof, and a-rotatable oil pan surrounding the bearing, said oil pan having a side wall extending above the openings in the side wall of ingsin the side wall of the bearing;

a bearing for the shaft, said bearing comprising an oil receptacle having an inner wall surrounding the shaft, an outer wall spaced from the inner wall, and a bottom wall connecting said inner and outer walls, an oil pan surrounding the bearing and rotatable with said shaft,. and means carried by the oil pan fordeflecting. oil toward the V bearing.

' 5:" The combination' with a rotatable shaft, of

a bearing for the shaft comprising an oil're- 'ceptacle having an inner wall surrounding they a shaft, an outer wall spaced from the inner wall and a bottomwall connecting the inner and outer walls, the outer wall extending above the inner wall so that when the bearing is filled with oil theinner wall will be submerged, and means rotatable with the shaft and surrounding the bearthe bearing, and means for deflecting oil from the oil pan toward the opencausing the oil to flow in a 4. The combination with a rotatable shaft, of

oil.

6. The combination with a rotatable shaft, of

a bearing surrounding the shaft comprising a unitary structure having an inner wall'for sur-.

rounding the shaft, an outer wall spaced from the inner wall, and a bottom wall connecting said inner and outer walls to provide an oil receptacle,

a plurality of substantially radial partitions.

formed integral with the bearing body, a pluraliterposed between said radial partitions, said parv a 3 ing for continuously supplying the bearing with openings at the bottom of saidpartitions for 7 wall connecting said inner and outer walls, the

outer wallbeing. of greater height than the inner wall, a series of openings formed in the outer wall near the top thereof, partitions within the space between said inner and outer walls toprovide a plurality of chambers, said partitions having openings for causing the oil to fiowin aserpentine path through the bearing, an oil pan serpentine path surrounding the bearing and rotatable with the I shaft, and means carried by the oil pan for defleeting oil toward, the openings in the outer wall of thebearing. V r U HARRYE. sMYsEm l 10 ty of substantially circumferential partitions in-, V 

